Meta Can't Arbitrate Deceptive Ads Suit, 7th Circ. Rules

By Lauren Berg

Meta Platforms cannot steer a media company's ad deception antitrust claims away from court and into arbitration, the Seventh Circuit ruled on Thursday, saying the case falls outside the agreement Meta is trying to enforce.

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First Financial Corp. Buying First Illinois In $111.3M Deal

By Al Barbarino

First Financial Corp. has agreed to buy First Illinois Corp., the parent company of Hickory Point Bank and Trust, for about $111.3 million in cash and stock, expanding the Indiana-based bank's presence in central Illinois, the companies said Thursday.

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Mass. Judge Halts USPS Mail Ballot Rule Before Midterms

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing a new rule allowing it to deny delivery of mail-in ballots from voters whose names are not on citizenship lists the Trump administration is compiling ahead of November's midterms.

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Clifford Law Says Ex-Client Attempting $1.3M Email Extortion

By Lauraann Wood

Chicago injury firm Clifford Law Offices PC is suing a former client in Illinois state court for allegedly manipulating a partner's 12-year-old email to try extorting $1.3 million from the firm.

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DC Circ. Says Challenges To Pa. Power Plant Orders Can Wait

By Tom Lotshaw

A D.C. Circuit panel granted the Trump administration's push to pause consolidated cases challenging orders that blocked a Pennsylvania power plant from retiring while litigation over similar orders involving a Michigan power plant play out.

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States' Suit Says HHS Terms Threaten Family Planning Dollars

By Rachel Riley

Twenty-three states launched a lawsuit in Maryland federal court Thursday challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new conditions on federal funding for family planning services that they say would require recipients end support for "gender ideology," abandon diversity programming and drive patients toward parenthood and marriage.

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Mead Johnson Nutrition Head Defends Formula In MDL Trial

By Celeste Bott

Mead Johnson's head of nutrition testified Thursday in a trial over whether its preterm infant formula led to a newborn's serious and ultimately fatal gut illness, saying she had no reasons to worry about the product's safety but acknowledging it carries a higher risk for the disease than human breast milk.

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Grocers' Microcaptive Valid For Tax Benefits, 7th Circ. Told

By Zak Kostro

Chicagoland grocery chain owners' in-house insurance arrangement is a valid insurance transaction "and should be respected as such," they told the Seventh Circuit, saying their business should be allowed to claim microcaptive tax benefits to reduce its taxable income.

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Series

Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

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Exclusive

Inside The $150M Immigration Contract That Wasn't

By Daniel Connolly

The leader of a small Houston-based law firm says she was "blindsided" by an announcement from the federal government that her 24-attorney shop had won a $150 million no-bid contract to represent thousands of immigrant children in deportation proceedings.

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ABA Faces Uphill Battle To Remain As Law School Accreditor

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association council responsible for accrediting law schools is fighting on multiple fronts to retain its status as a nationwide accreditor, fending off challenges at both the federal and state levels.

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Dems Say DOJ Opinion Aims To Foil Oversight Of White House

By Courtney Bublé

With midterm elections right around the corner, Senate Democrats are worried the new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could let the Trump Administration obstruct congressional oversight of the White House.

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Google Users' Atty Fee To Be In 'Realm' Of $147M, Judge Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he won't give the full $147 million in fees sought by lawyers who won a $425 million class action verdict against Google for unlawfully collecting user information, but he said their "really excellent lawyering" deserves an amount "within that realm."

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Womble Bond Asks To Drop Dutch Software Client Over Rift

By Hayley Fowler

Womble Bond Dickinson is looking to pull its representation of a Dutch software company after five years of a bitter trademark battle, citing a "fundamental disagreement" that has allegedly made it impossible for the firm to move forward as counsel of record.

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